Home Swappers Newsletter Issue 18 October/November 2002 Topics Covered: Wales to Oz Nut Farm: Home Swap on TV Members' Own Websites: More Information & Photos Participants Needed: TV & a New Magazine So Many Nice People, So Many Exchange Offers! Last Minute Offer: Christmas in the Rockies Home Base Holidays Subs: Barclaycard Secure Payments 'Real' Testimonials Newsletter Contributions Greetings, Home Swappers Newsletter is published bi-monthly to provide up-to-date information on home exchange vacations for current and recent members of Home Base Holidays, enquirers and Newsletter subscribers. Non-members: note the member's ID given at the end of some articles (HE + number) and use the link: Find Listing by Member ID. Members: search by User IDs in your member area to view listings in full. See Quick Links to Member Login and Visitors Preview at the end of the newsletter. Wales to Oz Nut Farm: Home Swap on TV Terence Donohoe writes: "We arranged an exchange of our home in Denbigh, North Wales, to a Macadamia Nut Farm in Northern New South Wales, Australia in October 2001. We and our exchangers agreed for the swap to be filmed by Maverick TV to be shown on Channel 4 in a series called 'Home from Home'. We were apprehensive at first as to whether the filming would be intrusive into our holiday. We need not have worried, it was a friendly, informal and very interesting experience. We were visited at home, as were the Australians, where a film crew shot footage of our home and garden and of our general preparations for leaving, i.e. packing the cases, leaving a welcome note with helpful hints for our visitors. We were also asked to do a simulated locking up and driving away. We did a short film interview to put over our expectations and reservations, if any, of our forthcoming swap. All this was very painless but we did have to learn how to talk to the camera, e.g. only to speak when the other person had stopped, no breaking into conversations. It was all something to do with being able to edit the film at a later date. Another film crew rang us when we arrived in Australia and agreed a mutual time to do some filming out there. Similarly our swappers were contacted over here in Denbigh. The new crew spent three days with us filming in and around the farm, our arrival (again simulated), a mock harvest of the nuts, driving around the farm on a John Deere Gator and visiting a local Rodeo, Byron By Resort on the coast and a Tea Tree Oil Plantation. We finished off on the third day visiting a local cricket match where I talked to some of the players who gave me a good natured sledging about English cricket and having to come all the way out to Australia to see a decent standard of play. All in all, it was an enjoyable three days even though we packed in more visits in those days than you would normally do, so it was a little tiring, especially as not being actors(!) there were quite a few retakes. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, all the more so as we got our 'Andy Warhol's promised 15 minutes of fame' and saw ourselves on the box as did most people in Denbigh (we were stopped constantly after the showing of the programme). Maverick TV sent us a copy video of the show and we have a permanent souvenir of that holiday. We can strongly recommend the filming experience to any swappers out there." The Donohoes are currently on their third exchange to Australia, calling at Perth first to stay with their first exchange partners. View Terence's Listing by Member ID: HE3601 Members' Own Websites: More Information & Photos Home Base Holidays member forms include a box to add a website link if available. Often members include the URL of a local tourist information website. Increasingly, members are developing their own websites to provide extra information on their homes. Although each member has a good amount of space to describe their exchange offer on our site and include one or two photos (too much information and photos would be counter productive and slow down searches), a link to a member's own website is a great idea, enabling those interested in the offer to read about the home and family in more detail plus view additional photos. Check out Sheila Hoffman's website (link below) for a good example of a member's own house information site. Sheila writes: "Our reason for (asking our son to produce) this website was because we are often asked for pictures of our house (we have exchanged 12 times). For anyone wishing to have their own website I would strongly recommend the following two safeguards against mischief makers: (1) Do not include your postal address on the site. (2) Do not have your email address on the site." The mischief makers Sheila refers to are companies which harvest email addresses from any site once it is live on the web and sell lists of addresses so many dubious types can fill your email in-box with junk! Some members will of course include personal contact information especially if the site also promotes a rental, a hotel or bed & breakfast business. But Sheila's comments are a useful warning to members who only want an easy way to share additional information and photos with other members. Sheila and her husband use home exchange as a convenient way to visit their grandchildren in Melbourne, Australia. They are open to offers in Melbourne, particularly for Easter and Christmas 2003, plus the USA and all other offers outside these periods. Their three storey Victorian house is a five minute walk through fields to the historic Harrow School (Lord Byron, Winston Churchill) and only 20 minutes by Tube to central London. Non-members: use the Preview Listings link at the end of the newsletter (and Detailed Search) to find their listing, HE4721. Members: login to view. Check Out the Hoffmans' Own House Website » Participants Needed: TV & a New Magazine (1) Freelance journalist Jenny Tucker is writing an article on home exchange for a new quarterly magazine to be launched in the UK in January 2003. 'Project Amber' is described as an 'upmarket lifestyle magazine aimed at people looking for escapism, luxury and leisure ideas'. Jenny would like to interview members (probably 30s/40s professionals to fit with the magazine reader profile) who have had positive home swaps and are interested in new experiences rather than 'sitting around a poolside' on holiday. Your own home doesn't need to be glamourous or expensive but you may need to be photographed. If you could possibly help out please contact Jenny as soon as possible: pedrorom@dircon.co.uk (2) In the last issue of 'Home Swappers' we included a plea for volunteers willing to be filmed while on exchange for the BBC 'Holiday' programme. The 'Holiday' programme is now interested in hearing from any members who have arranged an exchange from the UK to anywhere in the world in November 2002. Participants will receive a video copy of the programme. To find out more contact Jenny Cole, Producer: jenny.cole.01@bbc.co.uk (3) And finally, another appeal from Maverick TV, who have the mammoth job of organising film shoots of home swaps for the second series of 'Home from Home' for Channel 4 - a whole series on home exchange holidays! Maverick are looking for swaps from the UK to anywhere in the world, including exchanges within the UK, to film from mid November through to mid January. Read Terence Donohoe's positive report above on taking part in the filming for the first series of 'Home from Home'. If you have arranged an exchange during this period and are interested, contact Melissa Feather: mellymaverick@hotmail.com If you would like us to forward a message to any of the three media contacts above, use the email link below. Be sure to tell us who you want your message to go to - Project Amber, BBC Holiday or Maverick TV. Forward Your Message » So Many Nice People, So Many Exchange Offers! Recent Home Base Holidays member, Sandie Gibson, writes: "I am having so much fun, it's just so exciting, everyone's writing to me. I've had some lovely e-mails from members telling me of their experiences, etc. Only one problem! I sent off quite a few e-mails as suggested and I've got a few interested in swaps, have been corresponding with three people, one lady in particular who was the first, but the others have better dates. No arrangements have been made of course, but we have said that we are interested. But what do I do now? I don't want to disappoint anyone! They all sound so nice. Do people expect it?" Most members will send out several exchange offer messages when looking for a swap and are bound to sometimes receive more than one positive reply. Some members looking for longer periods away (or shorter swaps at different times) are able to organise more than one exchange. However, if this isn't possible, or dates fit better in other offers, don't keep some members hanging on waiting to hear if you are willing to pursue an exchange with them. Although no one likes to disappoint others, members will appreciate your thoughtfulness in letting them know your decision quickly so that they are able to get on with looking for other swap possibilities. Once you have made a firm committment to go ahead with an exchange though, and have both agreed to buy air tickets, any other exchange offers received for the same time must be declined. If you do receive an attractive offer you can't take up, perhaps you can suggest a swap at a later date. As well as direct home exchanges, many members, including Sandie, are open to other arrangements such as offering B & B accommodation, rental, weekend exchanges and housesitting. If unable to pursue an exchange offer, but wishing to keep in touch with the new friends you've made through your correspondence, you might consider offering an alternative to a direct swap, if feasible, or arrange to meet if there is an overlap period in your exchanges. Sandie's home is a bungalow on a peninsula in Wirral, Merseyside, England, close to Chester and North Wales. View Sandie's Listing by Member ID: HE13026 » Last Minute Offer: Christmas in the Rockies Carolyn Mendis and family would like to swap their home in Alberta, close to the ski resorts of the Canadian Rockies for two weeks, 21 December - 4 January. Although they would prefer to swap to a warm location, they are open to offers. This could be a perfect opportunity to ski in the Rockies! Carolyn has already added her listing to the Last Minute Offers list on the Home Base Holidays site. Be sure to check out these offers often. And, if you are a member looking for a swap within the next couple of months, click the Boost My Profile link in your member area to add your listing to this additional search list for a month. Your listing will still be indexed as before - this is just an additional way for members and site visitors to find your offer. In order for this search facility to be of value please do not add your listing to it unless your exchange dates are getting close and you haven't found a swap yet through contacting other members. View Carolyn's Offer by Member ID: HE6645 » Home Base Holidays Subs: Barclaycard Secure Payments For even greater security and peace of mind when joining Home Base Holidays, or renewing membership, payments are now made on the Barclaycard secure payment website. Your listing is released immediately and you may search listings and contact members as soon as you join. Once you complete a membership form (or update the information on your form if renewing) click on the links that follow to be transferred to the Barclaycard site. Follow the three step process to enter your credit card details (don't leave any spaces when entering the number). All cards are accepted except American Express. Click Complete Purchase. 'Order Status:Success' indicates your details have been processed. Click Continue to return to your member area on the Home Base Holidays site. You will receive an acknowledgement giving further information and a receipt by email. If you would prefer to join by post, contact Home Base Holidays. Let us have your name and mailing address to receive information and a membership form. Join Home Base Holidays » 'Real' Testimonials Perhaps I am becoming jaded from reading too much hype but I quickly leave websites proclaiming to be 'the best', 'worldwide leaders', 'no. 1', 'acclaimed by the world press', 'the ultimate', etc, whatever they are selling unless concrete evidence to back up such claims is readily available. I rarely now read Testimonials pages as, although these will inevitably include wonderful accolades from satisfied customers, there is often no way to verify how accurate or recent the quotes are or, indeed, if they are even genuine. I have made many great purchases over the net without problems and know that the majority of business websites are providing good and honest services, whether well-known large companies or small local businesses. However, we all have to make choices (some rational, some probably not so) based on our own instincts and criteria for deciding which sites are trustworthy. It is for these reasons we have tried to make Home Base Holidays as open to scrutiny as is possible while protecting members' privacy. Having both member join and expiry dates in listings enables anyone browsing the site to see exactly how long each listing is in circulation. There is no way to guarantee that a member will be interested in a particular swap but at least everyone can see that offers are current. Along the same lines, we try hard to avoid making claims that can't easily be substantiated. Also, only quotes from current members with direct links to their present exchange offers are included. These are on various pages on the site rather than on one testimonials page, although we do have a page of 'Member Exchange Stories' (link below). This protects members' privacy as no contact information is included with quotes used but gives extra publicity for their exchange offers. It does mean that we aren't using some great quotes from those who are not currently members, but we hope that a few, genuinely recent quotes, will help establish our credibility with other jaded web surfers! We welcome suggestions from both members and subscribers new to the idea of home exchange vacations. What do you look for before giving your custom to an internet business? What changes or improvements would you like to see on the Home Base Holidays site or, indeed, in this newsletter? Send your comments and, if you are a member, you could get some extra publicity for your exchange offer in 'Home Swappers'. Home Base Holidays Member Home Swap Stories » Newsletter Contributions We are always pleased to receive contributions for the newsletter - short articles about your exchange experiences, tips for those new to the idea of swapping homes and questions from subscribers considering a home exchange holiday for the first time. We are happy for you to forward Home Swappers to friends and colleagues who may be interested in home exchange as long as the newsletter is sent in full. All Home Swappers content is copyright and cannot be used in any form without written permission from Home Base Holidays. Home Base Holidays, London, UK 1985-2002: 17th year providing a home exchange service worldwide Lois Sealey, Editor, Home Swappers Newsletter » Quick Links... Home Swappers Archives Join Home Base Holidays Now Members: Login Visitors: Preview Listings More About Home Base Holidays Rate Home Swappers at the Cumuli Ezine Finder email: homeexchange@btinternet.com voice: +44(0)20-8886-8752 web: http://www.homebase-hols.com This email was sent to homeexchange@btinternet.com, by Home Base Holidays. Edit your interests or remove your email address with SafeUnsubscribe™. View our privacy policy.